The Keanu Reeves movie, The 47 Ronin, opened this week to pretty mediocre business but it reminded me of this little blog post from 3 years ago about a visit I took to Japan. On arriving in Tokyo the first thing I did was get up early and take a trip out to the tombs of the 47 Ronin. I became aware of the Ronin initially through the Borges story "The Uncivil Teacher of Etiquette, Kotsuke no Suke," and then through the ukiyo-e, a remarkable series of woodblock prints on the subject of the Ronin. The shrine to the 47 Ronin is a surprisingly peaceful haven in the middle of Tokyo. I was the very first person there that morning and as such I got to light the first incense of the day to the memory of the Samurai... ... Like a total idiot I forgot to bring my camera to Japan but I did manage to take a couple of videos with the pinhole camera on my early model iPod nano.
